I work with cats on the weekend. Any suggestions for bonding with them? ?

Question

I am a cat socializer at our local Humane Society and spend about 5 hours a week with them. Since we have about 15 cats, I spend roughly 20 minutes at a time with them.

I've managed to do fairly well, but sometimes I wonder if there is more I should be doing. I usually just pet them and let them chase toys.

Just looking for other ideas. What do your cats like?

Our whole goal is to make the cats more comfortable with human interaction, therefore more adoptable. :)

Answer 1

That's great! I also work at a Humane Society a couple times a week. Petting them is the best thing for you to do. Sitting in the floor so you are more eye-level with them makes them feel more comfortable. If you have especially friendly cats, sit on the floor indian-style or in a chair with your legs together, put a towel on your lap and put them in your lap. That way, they will feel like they are being held without feeling overwhelmed with arms around them.

This may sound silly to some, but the more "equal" you make them feel to you, the better.  

Answer 2

they love to be scratched, they also like playing with yarn and old shoes, old purses where they could cuddle into, going for bike rides...

but honestly i think your already doing a great job and I'm sure the cats appreciate it ...

Answer 3

about the only thing you can do to bond with a cat is to sit quietly & let it sit on your lap or lay on top of you.  I have a mentally challenged cat who, FINALLY, after 15 years is becoming tame.  My boy spent a couple of months coddling & cooing & schmoozing up to him.  Until then, we'd tried to be generally nice & pet him, but he'd usually bite us.

In general, some cats are serene & loving & quiet all the time, then, some are always going to be stand-offish, but will like to be coddled when THEY want to.

Answer 4

first off let me comend you for your work your doing a good thing second off give them little scratches behind the ear and if the center will let you get a little cat leash and body collar and take them out side for a little walk in the back on some grass and let them play and lay in the sun the cats will love this at first they will seem weird when u put it on them after a while they will get excited to see you umm you can try the treat game we do this when we get strays and want them to become more human frendly basically you have a toyyou make this yourself if u really want and make a little hole for the cat to play around with its toys and still get the treats after the have gotton the treat give them a pat  

Answer 5

aw. good for you for volunteering. i work at a humane society and volunteers really do make a difference. our volunteers often brush the cats, which is good for bonding, plus a lot of them like it and it keeps them looking good for their potential new families. there isnt a whole lot you can do with cats besides cuddle them, brush them, and play with them. just give 'em lots of love.

edit: wow and 15 cats is all? our humane society has 110.

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Answer 6

My initial reaction to your question was to tell you to put a piece of tuna in your pocket!

After I read your details, I thought of a couple of things that might help make a cat more "adoptable" beyond what you're already doing.  One would be to pick them up alot...get them accustomed to being held by human beings...recruit others to do the same.  People, especially those with children will usually want to hold a cat before adopting it (not as much so with dogs)...one that doesn't freak out is more adoptable (one of my adopted cats will not tolerate being held...didn't know that because she was still under anesthetic when I adopted her so she lucked out)!

Another thing you might do is learn some of the individual traits of the cats and then include a note with the other information the shelter provides ("name", age, s*x, etc...). For example, if you discover when working with "Fluffy", that she will purr really loud if you scratch behind her left ear, put something like "likes being scratched behind the ears" on the card...people will do so and be rewarded with an affectionate purr.  

...and if potential adoptive families are touring the shelter while you're working, a quick glance at your note will let you know what to do to showcase the cat you're working with.  For example, if you see someone looking at "Spot" and you know he's especially animated when playing with a rubber ball, roll one to him a few times!